“Little” exposes why we need to help Black managers

Little was a great movie, but it was triggering, and I’m not the only one who felt it. Watching Regina Hall’s character should have been empowering since for the first time on the big screen we saw a black woman tech founder at the helm of a movie plot. Instead, I squirmed in my seat as I watch Jordan Sanders insight humiliation, verbal abuse and denying opportunities for career growth. It was just a few examples of what a toxic work environment looks like for some black employees with a black manager.

 

For some of us, the grass isn’t always greener. I remember telling my friends over brunch this as they complained about their white managers and the passive aggressiveness they experienced. They missed the utopia our black college experience and they envied the position I was in to have black managers, but I knew first hand that it wasn’t what it was cracked up to be.

 

I saw #Little and the writers really hit the nail on the head w/ showing what toxic workplace culture looks like. Also, many of you think that by having a black boss things would be different at work, but I’ve experienced my share of black managers and the grass isn’t greener. pic.twitter.com/FYDbmqxcw1

— Brittney Oliver (@Britt_S_O) April 24, 2019

 I asked Twitter what their thoughts were about Little and having black managers and the sentiments were similar. The trauma from the environment even had some of my followers refusing to ever work for or with a Black manager again.  

What were some workplace themes you came across while watching #LittleMovie that were spot on? — Brittney Oliver (@Britt_S_O) April 24, 2019

 

I thought the same thing!! What I found very moving was how she allowed the ‘big investor’ to be disrespectful to her because of the power dynamic. Toxic. Also the scene showing how ideas were shot down. Toxic. Anxiety around bosses. Also toxic.

— Dan Nicolas, SHRM-CP (@dynicolas) April 25, 2019

 

It’s brown 😕 — Yvonne Chase (@ItsYvonneChase) April 24, 2019

 

Black bosses, female or otherwise have not been my friend as a matter of fact, they’ve tried to destroy my career.

— Yvonne Chase (@ItsYvonneChase) April 24, 2019

 

There were three things I experienced from some of my black supervisors:
Forms of hazing and no mentoring, failure to pull me forward but an energy to hold me back and unprofessional communication tactics.

However, it took me becoming a supervisor to my junior staff where I finally found some empathy. There’s a pressure that comes from being a minority and overseeing a department or a team at a company. You have to work twice as hard and be twice as good to outperform the expectations that senior leaders have for you. There was also a need to avoid the mistakes that my former managers had, but I did not have a positive example of how to manage employees. Underpaid and not having the bandwidth to invest in myself because I knew my small company wouldn’t, I read some articles online and hoped for the best.

 

After reading the responses from Twitter, it made me wonder what we are doing to better equip Black professionals for managing others. This is important because as we continue to discuss the career pipeline for Black professionals, we can’t only point the finger at majority white companies and we can’t always assume that the lack of support we receive at work is coming from people who don’t look like us. After experiencing what it’s like to be a manager, I share some ways we can do a little better when we are in positions to lead when there’s no one around to invest in you.

 

Invest in leadership courses and read
Companies send their employees who are on track for roles that involve managing a team to classes. If you are a small company who can’t afford a class please invest in books or e-courses for your employees. If you are a Black manager and you can’t rely on your company to invest in you, find ways to invest in yourself to get the management tools you need.

 

When you are the minority in charge you have to be a safe space
There’s a difference with wanting a junior employee to earn their keep and being outrageous with demands and expectations. Teaching does not mean hazing. You aren’t making them better by doing this; you are making them hate coming to work and adding a level of exhaustion to what is an already stressful situation of being a minority in the workplace. Give tasks but remember to mentor. There are workplace nuances that they will need to learn from you, and you have to lead by example.

 

Just Do It
You can read all the books in the world, but you have to create management systems that work best for you. Fail forward and try new things, trust your team, be open to feedback and give opportunities.

 

Breathe
Yes, it’s a lot to have to meet your team goals, but also be a mentor to junior staff. It’s a lot of pressure to keep up poise, professionalism, and excellence. Breathe and find moments to unwind instead of lashing out on the junior staff. When it gets bad, text your friends and plan for an emergency happy hour/dinner to blow off some steam.

 

Photos courtesy of Little